NJ Vegfest Vegan Pop-Up Shop, Asbury Park Edition

 

First, some backstory:
Last year I attended what I believe was NJ Vegfest's inaugural event in Morristown. My blogpost on the event was polarizing, to say the least, but the final update to the post was as follows:

UPDATE: Since this posted, the people behind NJ vegfest- Kendra specifically, have initiated and continued a dialogue, been extremely open to any criticisms and understanding of critique, as well as intent on vast improvement for future events. To say I am impressed by their kindness and openness is an understatement.

With their second large scale event under their belt (they also hold regular pop-ups in Morristown at The Laundromat), I'm happy to see that they are making impressive strides toward more spacious, organized, and affordable events. If the improvement between the fall 2016 event and this one is any indication, they are well on their way to solving the crowding/stock issues that seem to befall all veg events as of late. Congratulations for all you have accomplished in a very short time!

And, so...without further ado, onto the recap of my day at the NJ Vegfest Vegan Pop-Up Shop in Asbury Park.

We arrived about 15 minutes early for the event and had no problem finding parking right outside ($10/all day at the meter stands). In fairness, this ease may have been due to the overcast weather in the early morning.

Neither my friend or I had ever been to an event in the Asbury Park Convention Hall, so we were dumbly surprised to find that it was an actual show space. The best way I can describe it is that the vendors were set up in front of the stage in what would normally be floor seating. The stage (in back) was empty and the stadium seating, from where this photo was taken, allowed attendees plenty of options to rest/take a break/eat. There were a few picnic tables set up in the open space between the vendors and the stadium seating for those who couldn't or chose not to ascend the steps.

Admittedly, upon entry the event seemed small. NJ Vegfest had advertised ~50 vendors and, while I think only a couple were missing, when it was still early and the space was still relatively empty, it did appear to be a rather provincial showing. In fairness, I think this was due mainly to the layout of the arena.

Because we are vegan professionals, upon entry to the space we immediately made a beeline to:

If past events were any indication, we knew this would be the biggest draw and we wanted to get there first because I was under strict orders to bring home funnel cake donuts. We mistakenly thought that Vegan Treats having two booths meant they'd be at two locations in the space, but they actually had a double wide to hold all of their luscious treats- which made perfect sense.

I literally ran up to the table and immediately spied the booty. I excitedly flagged someone down (I'm not proud) for assistance and was all set to order a bazillion until...

I spied these black & white donut gems that I'd never seen before!

And then, I looked to my left, and it was a veritable vegan donut extravaganza. Heart palpitations commenced.

Even as a VT regular, I found it difficult to contain my excitement. But, I knew that I must because I was certain that the crowd forming behind me would grow impatient. So, I acquired my booty with relative decorum and breathed a sigh of relief as I walked off. That is, until I realized that in my excitement over the donuts, I'd missed the whole other half of the glorious booth: filled with cakes, cannolis, candy bars, brownies, and assorted GF specialties.

Mostly because there was a limit to how much I was willing to carry, I still felt okay about my haul. However, I was a bit sad to have missed these stunning Death by Chocolate cakes (the first VT cake I ever had and one of my favorites) made especially for Asbury Park. Killing it per usual, Danielle.

After that we headed over to Freakin' Vegan to start our day with our favorite broccoli cheese empanada. The lighting wasn't fantastic in this corner, so take a look at an interior shot from last week (yes, we stalk FV).

Satiated for the time being, we were able to make a quick pass through all the aisles to see what was on offer at the event.

Our friend, Gone Pie, came prepared with tons of her inventive & 100% gluten-free goods!

Brooklyn's Champ's Diner was representing in a double booth.

 

Red Bank's Good Karma Cafe was on hand with sammies, sweets, and a generous amount of staff. 

 

And Compassion Company had their stunning display of rad shirts, pins, stickers, hats, etc. at the ready. I picked up a few of their new magnets and I'm super excited for them not to be stolen off my car.

 

We decided next to snag some goodies from the Samosa Shack because their menu and staff were irresistible.

My pal ordered the Samosa Chaat: tofu tikka masala and potato pea samosa with roasted chickpeas, raita/yogurt sauce & chutneys.

 

I ordered the samosa & salad: potato pea samosa with Bhel Puri (Indian street food: puffed rice, potato, red onion, cilantro, tamarind chutney, PEANUTS!, chick pea crisps, turmeric) and Mini was super kind enough to put as little cilantro in my dish as humanly possible. THANK YOU! So very much appreciated.

We took our meals to the stadium seating, happy to have a destination. It was super cool to have someplace to sit with such a great view of the event- which had become considerably more packed in the hour or so since it had begun. The Vegan Treats line was our crowd barometer.

It was also enjoyable to be in a communal type seating area because you got to speak with or just overhear fellow attendees' conversations about veganism. There was a threesome behind us, in particular, that seemed to consist of 2 non-vegans and one vegan. We listened as they shared a Yeah Dawg and grilled their vegan friend on everything from faux meat, coconut bacon, and what makes some beer/wine not vegan. She was a champ!

I found it really exciting that these (and likely many more) non-vegans would attend an event like this and I would venture to guess that it was due in no small part to the fact that tickets were so reasonably priced. Yay for vegan-curious and new vegans! It made me wonder if it might be useful to have an "Ask a Vegan" booth at these types of events? The first time I ever saw such a thing was in NY, but I hear it's taken off elsewhere. Just seems like a really inviting, non-judgemental option since not everyone has a vegan friend. I believe the Animal Protection League of NJ was on hand doing a bit of this outreach impromptu, so I'd bet it would be even more popular if it was marketed as a live "ask me anything." Just a thought.

After we ate, I pretended I was PostMates and picked up lunch for some pals who were vending.

Ribs & potato salad from Green Mustache were very popular and well-received.

The marinara meatballs from Nature Has Flavor were a huge hit as well.

Then we ducked out for an hour or so to walk the boardwalk. It was nice to see that a lot of the area businesses were offering vegan options. So glad that they'd stamped our wrists upon initial entry; it made it very efficient to exit and re-enter the event.

 

By the time we returned at about 1:30pm, it was PACKED!! Look at the difference from the shot above and check out this video of the Vegan Treats line winding around half of the venue.

Samosa Shack had a long line.

Yeah Dawg was working their mob like pros.

And our pal, The Fanciful Fox, remained effervescent with everyone that came her way even though she didn't have a chance to take a moment's break.

One thing I'd like to point out to any vendors reading: PLEASE! You need a tall sign like this so that people can find you and know what you're about. Table and/or tabletop signs/menus are too easily obscured by crowds and just add to the frenzy.

I picked up these chocolate-covered pretzels and potato chips from Chocolate Calling for VM; she loves them both and, when I couldn't decide between the two, I was super-impressed that there was a mixed bag option. Very smart!                                   

If there was one thing that was lacking from this event, I'd say more non-prepared, take home food. We'd come with a tote bag and a cooler, but left with very little to put in it. Most of the food seemed to be for immediate consumption, which is great, but it's also nice to find new products to bring home to try in the days that follow. There's only so much you can consume in a few hours, try though I may to stretch it to the limit. Specifically, could have really used a vegan cheese vendor (VegNature, Cheezehound, That's Cheezy) because who doesn't love cheese? Or just a vegan grocery/snack vendor in general (Orchard Grocer, V Marks the Shop). Interspersing these kind of vendors whose packaged products can be sold with quick turnover would also possibly help with the long lines for prepared food that were melding into one another.

At around 2:00pm I started noticing some vendors who were completely or almost entirely sold out. Champ's was the first down, then Self Love- who put up a really sweet sign to that effect.

 Curiously, local Cookman Creamery didn't appear to be have restocked at any point.

While it truly is a shame when vendors sell out relatively early during an event, it was nice to see the boost it gave to newer/lesser known vendors with less name recognition. I know that bringing enough without bringing too much is a delicate equation to solve, but I think we can pretty much assume that vegan events are uber popular; vendors should err on the side of generous!

On the way out I stopped in a nearby shop and picked up this appropriate gem.

And then I packed up my stash and headed home.

Once home, my family promptly stuffed their Vegan Treats into their faces and everyone was happy.

In my opinion, this event was a raging success. Was it perfect? It couldn't possibly ever be. Was it an improvement from the last event? Unequivocally. Sure, it was extremely crowded. No one likes to wait in line, let alone line after line. But, in all honesty, the line/stock issues that affected this event are no different than what was experienced at the recent Vegan Street Fair and has plagued the NYC Vegfest for years. Not to say there can't be improvements. But, the bottom line is, veganism is popular. These events will get larger and larger until the world is vegan and events for non-vegans grow smaller and smaller. I'm glad the team behind NJ Vegfest, the vendors, and attendees are working towards this goal.